MEMORIES:
Christina87 remembers...this place is EVIL!!!!!!!! i got stuck there for 8 hours in may it was HELL! More »
Posted on 10/22/08
Once the busiest airport in the world (now second to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International), Chicago O’Hare got its start as a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II. Once the contract was over in 1945, Douglas moved to the west coast, and the airport took the name Orchard Field. That same year, the City of Chicago chose the site for development to meet future demands in aviation. Incidentally, many have wondered why their luggage to and from Chicago has the three letters ORD. That’s a throw-back to the airport’s early history, though it would take only four years to be renamed.
In 1949, the airport was renamed after Lt. Cmdr. Edward “Butch” O’Hare, Medal of Honor winner and the Navy’s first “flying ace.” Soon, as Midway Airport became too small to handle the increasing volume of air traffic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began to develop O’Hare as the primary airport in Chicago. Commercial flights started moving through, and in 1962, a massive expansion for O’Hare was completed, turning the airport from rinky-dink to “world’s busiest” in an instant. In fact, in the few years following, numbers showed that O’Hare airport had more people passing through in 12 months than Ellis Island had in its entire existence!
O’Hare International has four terminals, Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5. Where’s 4? Terminal 4 was O’Hare’s interim international terminal for over a decade until 1995, when Terminal 5 opened. For anyone that’s been to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, it’s humongous – and that might be an understatement. The terminals provide plenty of people watching, and in addition, there are as many book and coffee stands as anyone could imagine. Anyone who has a little time and desire to wander, in Terminal 1, United’s flagship terminal, there is a colorful, neon-lit underground passageway connecting Concourses B and C – something not to be missed if you’re lucky enough to arrive at Terminal 1.
O’Hare’s not only popular with passengers it’s popular in the movies! In Planes, Trains & Automobiles, all Steve Martin’s straight-man Neal Page wanted was to get back to O’Hare, and the airport plays a role in the classic 1980s flick, Risky Business, as Joel takes his parents to the airport, setting off a chain of events that leads to Joel Goodson to run a brothel in his parents’ house. Heck, even Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes classic flies on a plane leaving “O Hare Airport.” How’s that for popularity?
In 2005, 76.5 million passengers walked through O’Hare. Though the airport is responsible for over a sixth of the U.S.’s total flight cancellations, it’s still winning award after award for “Best Airport in North America.” So whether Chicago’s your final destination or your just passing through, O’Hare is the place to be.
